Wednesday 9th July 2025
For a long time mow I have suffered from far too frequent typos. Unfortunetly I am only a two finger typist which doesn't help. I have just switched off all typing correction except "Check spelling while typing."
This walk was again in Garsdale and adjacent to the Thwaites Bridge walk on my last post. I parked on the road that leads up to Garsdale Station.
Straying from my normal format I will just add captions to the photos and add some other text at the end.
 |
| Looking back to the main road from the station. road |
 |
| This was just outside the passenger door of my car. |
 |
| Strange name. Search for "Mudlocks" revealed a brand of gaiters and a children's play facility |
 |
| After a couple of hundred yards I left the road for reed and tussocky sheep pasture |
 |
| Not much of a path but fairly easy going. I met a farmer checking her sheep. She told me I was on the wrong path. I took notice and ended up with a bit of wandering which can be seen on the map below |
 |
| Garsdale railway viaduct. The railway exerts a strong presence in upper Garsdale |
 |
| Looking back sat Garsdale station |
 |
| The sun came out suddenly and highlighted these newly shorn sheep |
 |
| My route went to the railway houses then climbed the fell to the left. I had difficulty finding the path for a while. I have indicated those wanderings on the map below It was all fairly hard going |
 |
| Having topped out I was now descending on Wainwright's Pennine Journey LDP as far as East House. From there I followed old tracks from one isolated and deserted farm to another. |
 |
"Fea Fow" - my photo
17 Nov 2024 — This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph's page on the Geograph website for the photographer's contact ...
I think it is now a holiday home. Nobody there today. The public footpath skirted round but I nipped in through the gate feeling just a little guilty and used the picnic bench for its allocated purpose |
 |
"Flust" - see OS map. Search reveals many different references too numerous to list here but none that would relate to the naming of a remote farmhouse.
|
 |
| Flust appears to be a used facility for the farmer but I don't think as a residence. It all smacks of bygone farming and a hard life. |
 |
| Descent from Flust and my walkout by Grisedale Beck |
 |
| "Reachey" this and the next. A superbly converted farm residence well in sympathy with the locality |
.
 |
| Grisedale Back at the approach to Reachey |
 |
| Grisedale Beck just before it crosses the road to become Clough River flowing off down Garsdale |
A lot of this walk had been hard going especially involving 904 feet of ascent. On arrival back at the car I was satisfied and had enjoyed, but felt quite tired.
Have you had that feeling when driving home after a hard cay that time seems to be expanding and that the anticipated hot bath and the like are becoming evermore distant? After leaving the M6 at Jct. 36 the road had just been surfaced with that cop-out method of just chucking down loose gravel. It was like driving through a thick fog and one was conscious of the car being covered in a layer of nasty dust which would need cleaning at the soonest opportunity. At Crooklands the road to Milnthorpe was closed. I had to turn round and go back AGAIN through the dust cloud to Jct. 36 and a three mile detour to get back to Milnthorpe. Unavoidable shopping had me stop at Booth;s supermarket, and then at the garden centre to restock with seed for the starving birds - was I ever going to get home?
Well I did and because of the tiredness and obstructions on the journey the hot bath was even more appreciated.
Just caught up with your last couple of outings. Fine they are too and proves your getting fitter. It’s always good to have a soak in the bath after a days hiking. I, like you have considered sacking the blog because of the lack of comments. However, viewing numbers are still high and after all I don’t necessarily blog just for comments. It’s my diary to some extent. Also blog posts get you reading about areas you may not have been to. Like BC’s latest plod. I am going to carry on blogging but I must get out more. Keep up your good work Sir Hugh.
ReplyDeleteThat was quite an ambitious walk, Conrad, considering the terrain and elevation gained and lost.
ReplyDeleteBet you enjoyed that bath.
Mr. Plod.
Alan R -I don't think I am getting any fitter, just more desirous of getting out there and importantly getting to higher elevations in wilder country rather than settling for valley bottom walking. Interesting that you say viewing numbers are high. Mine too. I sometimes get over 1000 when I select "in the last 24hrs." That must be something to do with the workings of Internet and search engines - a bit of a mystery to me.
ReplyDelete--------------------------------
BC - Yes it was strenuous for me. My reply to Alan R. above applies. The bath was heaven, then food and then refreshing chilled Sauvignon Blanc until iI fell asleep halfway through a You Tube video teaching the finer arts of how to solder, obviously not quite gripping enough.
When I first read this post, your penultimate paragraph wasn't something I readily identified with as I usually have the luxury, after a long, hard day, of being able to allocate driving duties to Mick, such that I can either kip or appoint myself as entertainments manager, playing a stream of podcasts. However, coming home from Wales yesterday, with Mick's poorly back, I had to drive. Goodness, that was an interminably long journey! Slow roads, followed by motorways at a crawl, constantly wondering if we'd made the best choice between the two obvious routes, and with time seemingly going in reverse.
ReplyDeleteI envy your ability to have Mick picking you up at the other end of linear walks. It becomes evermore difficult to find new circular routes within reasonable driving distance from home.
ReplyDelete